Discussion

Chicago Italian - Spiaggia, Picclo Sogno, or ???

I will be in Chicago in June for a small family reunion. We are a group of 8, with the siblings and their spouses ranging in age from 40 - 50, and the parents in their mid 70s. The family members are coming from different US cities (Boston, San Francisco, Washington DC area). The group wants one night's dinner to be Italian food, and Spiaggia was suggested by a friend in Chicago who is not a food oriented person. A co-worker suggested Piccolo Sogno. Thoughts on these two or another Italian restaurant to consider instead? We are looking for entrees in the $25 - $35 range, and would prefer something that is a little refined although fine dining is not the goal, we just want to avoid something super casual that might be too loud for a good conversation.

Just to give you an idea of what we are looking at for the dinners, we are considering Topolobampo for one of the nights, since authentic Mexican is hard to come by for most of us, and possibly Blackbird, Boka or Takashi for the third night, or going a little more casual at Girl and the Goat.

Wine is significantly less expensive at Piccolo Sogno compared to Cafe Spiaggia but food wise I think they match up quite well. Piccolo Sogno can be loud-ish depending on where you're sitting so make sure to make a request for a quieter table if you decide to go there.